Fadnavis agrees to allow ragpickers back inside Deonar dumping ground

The BMC had revoked the entry passes of around 3,000 ragpickers and barred them from entering the Deonar dumping ground from March 31, following allegations that the fires at the ground were a work of ‘sabotage’.

DAYS after being barred from the Deonar dumping ground, ragpickers may soon be allowed entry once again. Agreeing to the demands of a delegation of residents of Deonar, which included ragpickers, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reportedly said on Tuesday that they should be allowed to continue earning their livelihood.

An official from the Chief Minister’s office said Fadnavis would issue a formal directive to the BMC shortly. “The Chief Minister has agreed to allow the ragpickers into the Deonar dumping ground and will also direct the BMC to construct toilets for the residents there,” the official said.

The BMC had revoked the entry passes of around 3,000 ragpickers and barred them from entering the Deonar dumping ground from March 31, following allegations that the fires at the ground were a work of ‘sabotage’.

The delegation, led by activist Medha Patkar, presented several demands during a meeting with the CM on Tuesday after she held a rally at Azad Maidan.
“Thousands of people from Malad to Mankhurd are here because they need a home and have been living without basic amenities. The government can ask the civic body to regularise illegal buildings, then why not the slums,” asked Patkar.